(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption: COPING SKILLS: Stuart Country Day School field hockey star Maddie Copeland controls the ball in a game last season. Sophomore midfielder Copeland figures to be a pivotal performer as Stuart aims to maintain its winning tradition. The Tartans, who went 18-6 last fall and advanced to their sixth straight Mercer County Tournament championship game, start their 2009 season by playing at the Academy of New Church on September 10.

Stuart Field Hockey Needs to Find Finishers as It Shoots to Maintain Winning Tradition

Bill Alden

Last fall, the Stuart Country Day School field hockey team had a good idea where its goals were going to come from.

Led by productive senior stars Caroline Passano and Jackie Gaudioso-Radvany, the Tartans advanced to the Mercer County Tournament championship game for the sixth straight year on the way to an 18-6 season.

Gaudioso-Radvany, who is now starting for national power North Carolina, became the first player in the county to notch 100 career goals. Passano, for her part, is at Trinity College where she will be playing lacrosse.

As Stuart gets ready to open the 2009 season, Tartan head coach Katie Grant acknowledges that she isn’t sure who is going to fill the shoes of Passano and Gaudioso-Radvany.

“We have had some scrimmages; we have been passing well but finishing is the area that we need to work on,” said Grant, whose team begins the 2009 season by playing at the Academy of New Church on September 10. “The people playing at forward have to get confident in their finishing.”

The Tartans will be using juniors Kristi Hallowell and Whitney Charbonneau up front together with sophomores Angela Gallagher and Colleen Baker.

“It’s Kristi’s third year on varsity and she has a lot more confidence on the field,” said Grant. “It is fun to see.”

Grant will also have fun watching the tandem of sophomore Maddie Copeland and senior Sarah Schulte patrolling the Stuart midfield.

“Maddie is definitely going to be a big part of our offense,” asserted Grant, who will also be utilizing senior Lara Agnew and freshman Nikki Starke in the middle of the field.

“Maddie is a good role model to give confidence to the rest of the team. Jackie was like that and so was Kelly Bruvik before her. Sarah works hard. She is a smart passer; she is very composed. It’s nice to have a player like that in the middle of the field.”

The defensive backline has a nice mix of experience and talent with senior Rachel Gittleman, juniors Bethan Johnson, and Katie Keith together with sophomore Ani Hallowell.

The Tartans have a big hole to fill in their last line of defense with the graduation of goalie Clodagh Coughlin, who is now starting for Georgetown University.

Stuart will be depending on senior Dewi Caswell, a star goalie for the Stuart lacrosse team, to transfer those skills to field hockey.

“We know lacrosse is her game but she is surrounded by her friends and everyone roots her on,” said Grant of Caswell, who was a back-up last season.

“She is learning the game more and more with each practice; she has a good attitude. She learned a lot from Clodagh last year.”

While Stuart may take some lumps in the early going, Grant is confident the squad can become formidable as the fall unfolds.

“We lost a lot and we have a lot of young players,” said Grant.

“It is a team that should grow as the season goes on. They are very willing to learn; they are always asking questions. As a coach I am excited. The team is bonding well; getting along is as important as the hockey.”

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